How do I know it's a software or hardware issue with my DVD burner ?

[ylan]

My Lite-on DVD burner is about 10 months old in my WinXP Pro system . It run well until yesterday, when I put in all the DVDs that it used to read before , it did not respond. The system kept saying "please insert disk in drive." I am wondering :

1) Is this a hardware problem or software ( i.e. configuraton issues , system files corrupted etc.. ) ?

2) How do I know it's time to buy a new one ? Is there any test to carry out to settle tis issue ?

Please advise this absolute novice .. Thanks,

 

[wahnula]

ylan,

First go to Device Manger (right click My Computer, Hardware, Device Manager) and uninstall your DVD drive. Reboot and Windows will automatically install the driver for it. If trouble persists there is some good info here:

thread602-1356640

Of course a few short (half-second) blasts of canned air and a DVD cleaning disc is worth trying, but neither has ever worked for me. The cleaning disc is $10 and a new burner is $30...Lite-On should have a 1-year warranty, no? Worth a shot if none of these does the trick.

Tony